Mail box



June 2, I925. 1,53%32?) J. B. ARIAL MAIL BOX Filed Feb. 6, 1925 2 Sheets-shew, 1

J. B. ARIAL MAIL BOX Filed Feb. 6, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "ed June 2, 1925.

UNITED STATQEii JEAN B. ARIAL, Q33 OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA.

MAIL BOX.

Application filed February 6, 1923. Serial No. 617,404.

J. (177 1072072? it may concern.

Be it known that i, JEAN BArTIsTn ARIAL, a resident of the city of Ottawa, in the Province of @ntario and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful lmprm'ements in Mail Boxes, of which the following a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in mail boxes, and more particularly to postotiice boxes of the kind in which provision is made for newspapers and parcels as well as tters.

e objects of the invention are to provide ail box of this character, simple and eftive in operation, absolutelywaterproof, i From which mail matter cannot be ex- ::'-e l illegally by turning the box upe down or otherwise.

Further objects are to provide a box for mail in which the several parts will satisia -torily perform the various functions required of them.

A. still further object is to provide a device oi this character, in which adequate prov'sxin is made for protecting the sur l reptitious removal of the mail therefrom, and in which the letters will not mingle with the other mail matter.

With he foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of a mail box having pivotally mounted dividing memhers therein designed to form separate comp rtments and to prevent mail matter being illegally removed trom the box, and in which the box can be cleared without mixing the :il matter.

' et'erring to the drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of an alternative torm of my invention.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of an alternative form of partition for themail compartment.

Figure 4 is a sectional detail on line 44, l igure 2, or a modified form of swing door.

In the drawings:

A designates the mail box of any wellltnown standard construction and material provided with a suitable standard B and comprising a casing of any suitable shape having a top integral therewith formed in half semi-circular and half-slanting shape with an opening therebetween in which is pivotally mounted at 11 a Swing door 12 with handles 18 and formed with an inwardly slanting extension 14 designed, on the door being opened to prevent illegal access to the inside of the mail box. i

This top swing door is adapted to receive the mail matter comprising parcels, newspapers and other-similar matter (as distinct from letter mail), all of which is stored in the larger compartment 15 comprising practically the entire box with the exception of the smaller compartment 16 formed behind the usual flap protecting letter insert slot 17 in the box front.

This compartment 16 for letter mail is formed with suitably bent metal partition 18 extending inwardly and then downwardly to a point 19 within the casing, forming with the front or the casing, three sides which are completed asa separate compartment by the bottom member 20 having one end pivotally mounted at 19 and the other end suitably supported on and contacting at 21 on the casing front and adapted to be released when necessary by operating the latch holt member 22- thereon designed to engage the supporting member 21.

23 and 2a are metal aprons pivotally mount ed respectively on the back of the letter compartment and tie inner rear side of the casing. These aprons are adapted through the auxiliary supports 25 and 26 to slant inwardly when the box is in normal position and to form a sort of feed hopper into which the mail (other than letters) from the swing door 12 will pass to the bottom of the casing, to be subsequently removed through the discharging door 27 in the casing front at the bottom.

The pivotally mounted aprons 23 and 21- are a. feature of my invention and while. as

above explained, they allow of the passing of incoming mail matter therebetween when the box IS 111 normal position, it will be evident that, should the box he turned on 1t-s side or bottom upwards, these aprons will below. Thisieature of my invention constitutes a considerable saving over the old construction in which the flange was formed outside and became in wet weather a sort of gully in which the moisture was retained and the box in consequence rusted and prematurely worn out.

In Figure 3 I have shown a modified form of my invention in regard to the flaps; for instance, instead of the flap 23 pivotally mounted on the back of the letter compartment, the swing'door extension 14 ma be provided with a further extension 29 pivotally mounted at 30, inwh'ich case the auxiliary support 25 would also be unnecessary in the absence of the apron 23.

In Figure 4 I have shown a modified form of the bottom member for the letter com partment which, instead of being pivotally mounted at 19, is formed of a slidable member 31 supported on the box casing by a bracket 32 and designed to slide backwards and forwards. In this construction, and in order when the letter compartment is being emptied, to prevent any of the letters being caught by the bracket 32, I provide a strip 33 on the side of the casing above this bracket and extending outwardly to clear it so that the letters will also slidably clear the bracket in their downward movement from the compartment.

A further feature of my invention is the method of'preventing, when the box is being cleared of mail, the mixing of the letter mail with the other mail. This, as

7 can be readily seen, is accomplished either by the sliding bottom in the letter compartment, above alluded to, or by theconstruction as shown in Figure 2,,and in operation is as follows:

On the discharge door 27 being opened, the newspaper and parcel mail will be found ready to handle on the bottom of the mail box, and this is first cleared; then the bottom ol the letter compartment is either 4 swung open by releasii'ig the bolt holding it or slidably opened when the letter mail can be taken out separately, or vice versa, the letter compartment can be cleared first and the general mail compartment afterwards.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention within the scope of the claims constructedwithout departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theaccompanying specification and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

lVhat- I claim as my invention is:

1. A mail box of the character described comprising a casing having an opening in the top, a swing door therein, a letter slot partment being provided with a pivotally mounted bottom designed to operatively engage with the casing wherebythe letter mail is retained separately in one compartment and cleared separately therefrom, a pair of aprons pivotally mounted within the casing and provided with auxiliary supports designed to impel said aprons inwardly to form a hopper head whereby the mail from the top opening passes to the bottom of the casmg. 1

2. A mail box of the character described comprising a casing suitably flanged at the lower end to engage with the bottom member whereby a non-interrupted outer surface is provided, a top swing door' formed with a downwardly and inwardlyextending extension, a letter compartment within the casing provided with a letter slot and 7 formed with a swinging bottom portion provided. with means adapted to engage the casing side when closed, a pivot-ally mounted apron on the back'of the letter compartment registering with a pivotally mounted apron on the back of the casing, means for impelling said aprons inwardly whereby the mail matter from said swing door is adapted to pass therebetween to the bottom of the casing, a clearing door for the casing, and suitable supporting means for said casmg.

3. In a mail box of the character described, the combination with a casing suitably flanged on the inside to engage with the bottom of the casing and having a letter compartment and a general mail compartment with an extended swing door therein, of a pivotally mounted partition member between the letter compartment and the general compartment whereby the letters are retained separately from the general mail, operatively mounted aprons in the general mail compartment adapted in normal position to form a hopper head and adapted on the mail box being up-turnedto swing together to prevent the mail matter in said compartment from being illegally removed.

4. The'mail box as described in claim 3, in which the aprons are pivotally connected gt one end thereof to opposite sides of the 5. The box as claimed in claim 1 in which the auxiliary supports comprise inwardly projecting plates fixedly secured on each side of the box.

' In. witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in'the presence of a witness.

' J. B. ARIAL. Vitness: v W. T. CUFFA QUIN. 

